12 upcoming books we’re excited to read

Winter is still here, and for some of us that means extra time for catching up on reading.

But the days are growing notably longer, and spring is just around the corner, bringing a bumper crop of books that should appeal to Inland Northwest readers.

Get ready for a new “Longmire” mystery, an Alaska memoir from a reality TV star and a revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Here are 12 new releases coming soon (plus three books that are widely available) so you can start making plans for your book club’s next read.

Fiction

“The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts” by Kim Fu. Anyone who has ever owned a home will sympathize with Eleanor, the protagonist of Kim Fu’s new novel. Desperate to comply with her mother’s dying wish, Eleanor uses her inheritance to buy a home in a picturesque Pacific Northwest development steeped in a shadowy past. It feels like a fresh start, until the rain comes – an endless, torrential downpour. The novel made Time magazine’s 2026 most-anticipated list and is “a vivid portrait of mental fragility,” says Publishers Weekly. Born in Canada and now living in Seattle, Fu visits Auntie’s Bookstore March 20 to speak with Sharma Shields. Fu also wrote “Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century,” a collection that won the Washington State Book Award. (March 3, Tin House)

“Bumblebee Season” by Eileen Garvin. The author and beekeeper returns with a follow up to her bestselling book, “The Music of Bees.” Garvin will join the Northwest Passages Book Club April 28 to discuss her latest novel. It’s a story of friendship and healing set on an Oregon honey farm. (April 21, Dutton)

“We Burned So Bright” by TJ Klune. This supernatural novel from the prolific Leavenworth fantasy writer features a gay couple who embark on a cross-country road trip as an apocalyptic event threatens life on Earth. Driving from Maine to Washington state, Don and Rodney encounter a variety of people dealing with their imminent extinction in different ways, prompting the couple to reflect on their life together. Advance readers give the novel a 4.34 rating (out of 5) on Goodreads; with some saying they were moved to tears. (April 28, Tor Books)

“Babylon, South Dakota” by Tom Lin. This saga of the American West centers on Saul Keng Hsiu and his wife, Mei Lee, who moved from China to the United States to take possession of a 160-acre homestead bequeathed to them by a relative. Strange things occur on the farm when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers buys an acre of their land and starts building a Cold War missile silo. The author, who was born in China and immigrated to the United States when he was 4, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence for his first novel, “The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu.” (May 26, Little, Brown)

“The Brothers McKay: A Longmire Mystery” by Craig Johnson. The Wyoming author returns with a new installment of his best-selling Longmire mystery series. Sheriff Walt Longmire investigates the murder of Pepper McKay, one of the most disliked men in fictional Absaroka County. He focuses on McKay’s very different sons: a smooth-talking charmer, a cosmopolitan journalist, a reclusive monk and a ranch hand who keeps the place running. Each has a motive. Johnson joins Northwest Passages on May 26; ticket information is coming soon. (May 26, Viking)

Nonfiction

“Raised by Ferns: A Memoir” by Maya Jewell Zeller. In this memoir of essays, the Spokane writer traces her path from an unconventional upbringing to a “middle-class adult life shaped by academia, motherhood, and uneasy privilege.” Author Jess Walter praises Zeller’s “lovely, vital writing.” A poet, English professor at Central Washington University, and author of “The Wonder of Mushrooms,” Zeller will launch her memoir March 12 at Spokane’s West Central Abbey. (March 3, Porphyry Press)

“The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary” by Terry Tempest Williams. The eco-visionary author journeys through the red rock desert of Utah to contemplate what she calls “Glorians,” often-overlooked presences that can be small as an ant or all-encompassing as the night sky. Williams, writer in residence at Harvard Divinity School, finds grace in the unexpected as she grapples with the unsettled state of the world in a time of pandemic and climate chaos. “The Glorians,” named a most-anticipated 2026 book by the New York Times and other publications, is “evocative and richly personal,” says Publishers Weekly. Williams is the author of 17 books of creative nonfiction and frequently writes about the West. (March 3, Grove Press)

“North of Ordinary: How One Woman Left it all Behind for Wilderness and Wonder in Alaska’s Frozen Frontier” by Sue Aikens. The star of National Geographic’s long-running TV show “Life Below Zero” tells how she found peace in Alaska’s remote North Slope after a difficult childhood, in which she often was left to fend for herself. She writes about the appeal – and sometimes harrowing challenges – of living off the grid, including a near-fatal bear attack. On March 11, Aikens joins Outdoors writer Ammi Midstokke on the Northwest Passages stage. (March 10, Sourcebooks)

“Alaska Literary Field Guide,” edited by Marybeth Holleman, Nancy Lord and Shaelene Grace Moler. Readers who enjoy Aiken’s memoir also might like this vibrant anthology, which brings to life grizzly bears, glaciers, the aurora borealis and other natural wonders in works by contemporary Alaska authors, poets and artists. Washington state Poet Laureate Derek Sheffield calls the field guide an essential work that “truly honors the marvel of the living place we call Alaska.” (March 1, Shipstone/Mountaineers Books)

“In Trees: An Exploration” by Robert Moor. Richard Powers won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Overstory,” a sprawling 2019 novel that helped popularize research showing that trees are complex, interconnected organisms, essential for human survival. Now comes “In Trees,” a follow-up to Moor’s bestselling “On Trails,” a Pacific Northwest Award-winning work of nature nonfiction. For his new book, the British Columbia-based essayist traveled from East Africa to Japan, exploring the question of how we should live as stewards of the Earth. Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben says “In Trees” belongs in the “rare category of classic upon publication.” (April 7, Simon & Schuster)

“This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark” by Craig Fehrman. A journalist and historian, Fehrman spent five years digging deep into the iconic 19th century expedition and its leaders. The author came to see that the success of the expedition to map the West depended on a brimming cast of characters, including President Thomas Jefferson, native guides, an enslaved man and a working-class soldier who fought fearsome grizzlies and towed the captains’ hulking barge. In a starred review Kirkus Reviews praised the book as a “valuable fresh look at a storied moment in American history.” (April 21, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

“A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return to Tule Lake” by Tamiko Nimura. The Tacoma-based author weaves together her own memories with the unpublished writings of her father, who was incarcerated with other Japanese Americans at the infamous Tule Lake camp during World War II. Nimura travels to the former California prison camp as she comes to terms with parental loss and explores an unresolved family legacy of incarceration. Her graphic novel, “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration,” was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award. (April 28, University of Washington Press)

While you wait

If you’re looking for something to read right now: Check out “Evelyn in Transit,” the new novel from David Guterson. The book traces the story of Evelyn Bednarz, a young woman determined to live life on her own terms. The single mom must make a decision about whether to send her son to Nepal to live as a Buddhist monk. Guterson recently discussed his novel with author Jess Walter on the Northwest Passages stage.

Page to screen: “Train Dreams,” the acclaimed 2011 novella by Denis Johnson, is the story behind the Netflix movie nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture. “Train Dreams” follows laborer Robert Granier as he works across the forests and railroads of the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990s. Much of the film is shot in Spokane and Eastern Washington. “This meditative story blends intimate character study with breathtaking regional vistas, capturing both the spirit of the land and the heart of those who toiled on it,” says the Spokane International Film Festival. The festival is hosting a March 6 “Train Dreams” discussion at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center.

Save the date: “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” Shelby Van Pelt’s charming octopus novel, is set in the Pacific Northwest and spent 64 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The book club favorite has been transformed into a Netflix adaptation starring Sally Field that begins streaming May 8. Van Pelt joins Northwest Passages readers May 12 to talk about the novel and the screen adaptation. Ticket information is coming soon.

Do you enjoy reading with a book group? We’d love to hear all about the Inland Northwest’s book clubs! Please send an email to Comma Managing Editor Donna Wares, donna@comma.cm Tell us about your book club, how long you’ve been reading together and what’s on your list for 2026.